Hello!

Hello Vicwil

A warm welcome to our little corner of the forum, although I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis.  We are all familiar with the really tough early days when there is so much going on, life is a rollercoaster of appointments, scans and tests and extremely stressful - I walked around it a complete bubble of terror.  However, once treatment starts, you really will feel more in control of what is going on and there is a light shining at the end of that tunnel - hold on to that.  The radiotherapy, although it can be very tough, is known to be very successful at eradicating anal cancer.

There are quite a few people who had liver cysts show up on their scans - I had cysts in my stomach,  However, if they were to scan the population almost 100% of people would have harmless cysts show up.  In your case, they are going to monitor this carefully and if there is no change, they are harmless, and I very much hope this is the case.

I would go and thoroughly enjoy your holiday so you are rested and relaxed before treatment; what you have to remember that although radiotherapy comes with side effects they don't all come at once, it is a very gradual thing and before you know it the course is over.  Some of us (I am one) have lasting side effects but nothing I can't live with, I definitely have a new normal but have a really good life.  And others go back to how they were before, there is no way of predicting how you will be affected. 

How to prepare - keep the whole pelvic area heavily moisturised before and during treatment, just don't have a heavy layer of cream on when you have a radiotherapy session, it affects the dosage. 

Lots of us used StrataX during radiotherapy, it is a very thin cream that protects the skin and is available online.  It isn't generally given to patients at hospitals, undoubtedly because of the cost.  But you might think this investment is worth it!  It didn't help me, but it helped others.

A Sitzbath - a portable plastic bidet that sits on the loo and filled with lukewarm water is invaluable for bathing the whole nether regions.  I could not have lived without this, I even used it as a loo in the latter stages, somehow going under water was much less painful and the bath is easily emptied and disinfected.

Keep in touch with your treating team at all times.  They have access to all the possible medication you may need plus lots of creams and lotions and can supply them on the day.

Keep in touch with us; we have all been in that place you are now and have many more tips we can share and are happy to support others at all times.

Now enjoy that holiday! 

Big hug

Irene xx

Thank you Irene. That is all really useful advice. I have seen mention of strataX before and will be looking into this. 

Because of the biopsy I have already invested in a sitzbath so it’s good to know this could come in handy again . 

Hi Vicwil

I am about to start my treatment on the 5 Aug and, like you, am terrified of the side effects following treatment. However, worrying is not going to change the outcome so I have made a conscious effort to try and focus on best preparing myself and keeping a positive mental attitude.

I am so thankful for this group and will not doubt be reaching out throughout my treatment.

Best of luck moving ahead and enjoy your holiday.

Jo x

Hi Vicwil 

Welcome to this forum.. 

At the moment your mind will be racing with so many questions and concerns..

First of all.. please have your holiday and try to not think too much about your diagnosis..

I was diagnosed with stage 2 anal cancer in October last year.. scans showed up a small cyst on my liver but doc said nothing to worry about..

My treatment started 6th Jan 2025.. and finished on 14th Feb ( happy valentine's )

Irene has fave you lots of great tips..and advice..

I get a sitz bath and it was a godsend..I also bought a shewe for later in your treatment it helped when I needed a wee..

I found it easier to wee when I had a full bladder..and I stocked up on barley water and cranberry juice mixed with water..

I found that I lived on porridge..buttermilk pancakes and toast with diarylee.. anything else just didn't agree with me so get your calorie intake any way you can..

I used and still do use aveeno for down below ..but my hospital in newcastle gave me flamigel which I used as well.. use it as much as you can..

I got my spare bedroom ready with lots of Netflix series to watch and be comfortable..

The first few weeks of treatment other that being tired and a bit sicky I was ok.. by week 4 the skin below starts to get sore..make sure u wear lose clothing and whilst resting I wore nothing down below..

For me the worst time was treatment end date.. for the next 2 weeks it got worse...them by the 3rd week it started to get better..

Im 5 and a half months post treatment and I'm cancer free..and almost back to full strength..so I know the treatment is harsh.. but so worth it ..

I wish you so many positive thoughts and I hope your journey and treatment goes ok..

Reach out on this forum when u feeling like you need an escape.. I did on many occasions when fears got a hold of me and everyone was amazing 

Xx

Thank you Dahlia. You are absolutely right of course about the worrying and this is something that I need to remember. All the best with your treatment!

Hi Vicwil 

Try not to worry about the treatment, easier said than done I know but we all react and cope differently with it and while it wasn't a walk in the park it wasn't as bad as I had expected. My non negotiables were mens baggy boxers and water wipes. I would run any creams you plan on using past your medical team however harmless you may think they are as different hospitals seem to ok different things for example i was told of for using epsom salts. Try and put it out of your mind and enjoy your holiday. Sending hugs. Xx